1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording/reproducing apparatus in which a cartridge is inserted into a mechanism body through an inlet to thereby effect recording and reproduction on and from a recording medium accommodated in the cartridge and, in particular, to a recording/reproducing apparatus in which the mechanism body is mounted to the interior of a casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus in which information is recorded and reproduced on and from a magnetic disc accommodated in a disc cartridge, a panel is mounted to the front side of a mechanism body having a driving mechanism, and the disc cartridge is inserted through an inlet provided in this panel, whereby information is recorded and reproduced on and from the magnetic disc by using a magnetic head provided in the mechanism body.
In the field of game equipment, etc., there has conventionally been known a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus whose casing accommodates a mechanism body, with a panel being exposed through an opening provided on the front side of the casing. In such a known magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, the mechanism body is mounted to the inner bottom surface of the casing through the intermediation of a buffer rubber member, and a small gap is provided between the panel and the opening, whereby any impact applied from the outside to the casing is absorbed by the buffer rubber member and prevented from reaching the mechanism body.
However, the above-described conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus has a problem in that while it can protect the mechanism body from damage by virtue of the buffer rubber member in the case of a relatively weak impact, it is liable to suffer damage when a strong impact is applied as in the case in which the casing falls, causing the panel to hit against the edge of the opening of the panel. Further, if the impact is not so strong, there is a concern that vibrations will be generated when the panel hits against the edge of the opening of the casing. In particular, when recording/reproduction is performed, with the rear end of the disc cartridge being engaged with the inlet of the panel, the recording/reproducing operation can be adversely affected. Further, since foreign matter such as dust is easily allowed to enter the casing through the gap required to exist between the panel and the opening, the mechanism body arranged inside the casing is liable to be adversely affected.